Brush Inteference

Rick Pauly said:

FFS....I think the de-sequencing of the whip you are describing is what I teach......a good fastball has the elbow leading the ball into the strike zone(whip).....a good change up attempts to have the ball lead the elbow into the release zone(push) . Is that what you are suggesting?????

All the elite pitchers i know and the way I teach.....you should get brush contact on every pitch....the difference on the change up is that you don't allow the brush to transfer the energy into the fingers......they kind of "blow thru" the brush....plus they paralyze the fingers so there is minimal energy transferred into finger snap. I never encourage a hard brush and stopping action of the hand to try to take speed off the ball (I think that is what Corlay is seeing in his area)......it's the one pitch where I prefer a forced follow through.

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Rocketech1 said:

Thanks Rick. That is reassuring.

Any advice on the elbow sleeve that some top pitchers wear like Cat, Sarah, and Monica. Is this to reduce chaffing or bruising to the inside of the arm at brush interference or stylistic like the players that wear them in the NBA?

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FiveFrameSwing said:

Reminded me of the Cat’s advice to keep the rear shoulder back, giving you the front side of resistance for your snap.

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pumpkinbear said:

FFS - Can you elaborate on "keep the rear shoulder back" or point me to what you're referencing?

Who is "the Cat" (Osterman or FastPitchCat)?

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dbronstein said:

I'm not disagreeing about BI being a good thing, I don't know enough about pitching mechanics to make an argument either way. I'm just trying to understand what everyone is saying. I don't see how having the forearm brush the hip makes it speed up. It seems to me that the friction would slow it down.

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sluggers said:

I'm seeing two different kinds of BI:

1) We have BI where there is only a brush against the hip.
2) Then, we have another kind where the upper arm seems to be in contact with the torso.

Which is correct?

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4 girl's dad said:

What is the best approach to teaching her this type of mechanic? I see it in the best pitchers but her current PC is a "get the hips out of the way" teacher. She wants to to pitch but it's a battle between what she has heard in the past and what I'm wanting to show her.


Any tips on teaching 9,10,11 year olds? My dd will be 10 in December.

Great thread! Thanks in advance.

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Ken B said:

That one scares me a little, but I'll give it a go. Sometimes it seems like exaggerating a feel gets the result. Sometimes it backfires...

I like, "pitch from the pocket" and "release closer to the thigh." I also like to use a bump with quick stops to get the feel of the pop, or snap. I hate to suggest this stuff on the internets because it sometimes gets misconstrued and injuries occur... Being there and facilitating in person is much easier.

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Nunthia1914 said:

Sounds good to me MR B
What I try to teach is popping the ball at release. I use a tennis ball with no glove. This turns the hand into a trampoline like finger snap and you will hear a noise like Ka-pop and the arm will actually recoil if you do it right.

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